The architectural vocabulary developed at Disneyland has influenced other “invented” places. For an outstanding example, one has only to exit Disneyland and drive north along the freeway to The Grove in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles. Built in 2002, the Grove is one of the most successful shopping centers in the region. It was built adjacent to the historic and world- famous Farmer ’s Market (built in 1934) and was developed by Rick Caruso. Caruso learned many lessons from Main Street, U.S.A. and creatively applied them, resulting in a dynamic urban space. Both Disneyland and The Grove are promenades between two activity nodes. Each has a mid-block street breaking down the scale of the corridor. Both of these “streets” have similar dimensional metrics: the linear distance and the roadway from curb to curb. The Grove main corridor has the same dimensions from the center intersection to the center of the hub park near the musical fountain. Like Disneyland, The Grove mall also features building façades framing a narrow corridor using forced perspective. However, there is a difference: at The Grove, the first floor is standard height for a retail establishment and the upper floor is taller than normal. The result is a highly energized space, not as laid back as Disneyland’s Main Street.Developer Rick Caruso considers Walt Disney a hero and said that he is “one of the true geniuses in the world.” The Grove is what the Los Angeles Times described as a “wildly popular amusement park-like shopping center.” He had already built other “lifestyle” centers in suburban locations such as The Commons at Calabasas and The Lakes at Thousand Oaks. The Grove was his first urban infill project of this type.
Read more: Walt and the Promise of Progress City
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